The Curse of Strength
by My Reality Is My Own
Summary: Five times Loki's strength freaked people out and one time it didn't. Avenger!Loki


Summary: Five times that Loki's strength freaked people out and one time it didn't. [Good!Loki]

Written for a prompt I stumbled upon. I thought it was just too amazing and wrote this. C: I hope it's...decent. XD

Warnings; BAMF!Good!Loki, violence

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_**I.**_

It had been completely on accident; and neither Odin nor Frigga could blame Loki for what had happened. By the time they had made their way to the Healing Room, Thor was already surrounded by his friends, laughing and joking and all smiles. After gently removing the children, Odin sighed, knowing he had to ask.

"What happened, Thor?"

Thor blushed, still smiling but now uncomfortable. "It was my fault, Father. I fear I teased Loki too much, and he apparently had had enough…"

Frigga stiffened next to him, face blank. Odin swallowed roughly. "What exactly did he do, my son?" When Thor hesitated, he smiled. "I am not angry, I just need to know."

"…He threw me." There was a hint of awe and almost fear in the boy's voice. "Like I weighed nothing, Father. Right into the weapon shelf, he just picked me up and tossed me. Eir said I broke my arm, and Loki ran off to his room. It was…frightening, the look in his eyes."

Odin nodded, patting the boy on his head and leaving the room, Frigga following him after promising Thor to return with dinner. "It's as we feared."

"He'll grow to control it." Frigga argued immediately, eyes wide. "He will. This strength of his can only ensure his safety with us."

"…We'll see."

_**II.**_

"Loki-"

Thor knew that this couldn't end well as he overheard Fandral and saw the rare glint in his brother's eyes. It was not often that Loki lost complete control of his anger, usually able to swallow it and get even when his aggressor thought himself safe. But the fellow warrior had gone too far, calling out to Loki about his books and womanly arts of magic.

"Loki, please." Thor begged, worried about the punishment his brother would face but was ignored.

Loki snarled, green eyes hard as he wrapped his long fingers around the base of an oak tree. It was a large thing, towering but skinny in age. And they could only stare as the supposed weak, almost sickly, Loki Odinson hefted it up and smacked Fandral in the side.

There was a resounding crack and the blond swordsman gave a horrible, almost sobbing groan of pain as he was thrown into the wall. Blood fell from his lips as he wrapped his arms around his sides. Thor ran to his friend's side, ordering Sif and Hogun to carry Fandral to the Healing Room and for Volstagg to run ahead and warn Eir of their approach.

Once he was sure they had him, the Prince turned to his brother, weary and almost fearful. The oak was laying behind where the younger Aesir had crumpled to the ground. He looked fragile, but they both knew it to be false.

"I'm sorry." Loki muttered, so heart-brokenly sad and nervous. "I, I didn't mean…"

"You scare me sometimes, brother." Thor confessed, something he had only done when he was sure he was alone in his room. "You claim to hate fighting and yet you do such outrageous, frightening things…"

Loki flinched as though struck. "I…I am giving up Swords Training, Thor. I cannot keep allowing this to happen."

It didn't surprise the older brother. Thor frowned, knowing that doing so would only make the rumors worse. But Loki looked resigned, and without another word, he left, mostly to hide himself in his room.

He didn't emerge until Fandral was fully healed.

_**III.**_

Thor knew that the double doors to his father's throne wouldn't last long. Not with the way they shook and trembled, not with the screaming and cursing from behind it. The Prince found his throat dry and his tongue double in size as he stood next to his Father's throne. His Mother gave a dry sob.

The doors finally broke, and Loki stalked into the room, the torches going out and a darkness swelling the shadows of the room. The Court and the Warriors Three flinched, none of them able to meet the second Prince's eyes.

"Where is he?" Loki demanded, green eyes dancing with a fire never seen before.

Odin stood. "My son-"

"WHERE IS HE?" There was a desperation on his face and a rawness to his scream. Frigga covered her face. "Give me back my son or so help me, the Norns will hide their sight from what I shall do."

There was a pause as the Allfather seemed to gather himself. "Gone. Sealed away less he becomes a danger to Asgard."

Loki shook his head. "You have no right to take him from me."

"Brother," Thor stepped forward. "He is destined to kill Father."

"Just because the Norns offers a thread does not make it true." Loki was almost begging. "I can change that. He needs me, Father-King. He is but a babe."

When Odin shook his head, Loki lunged. The guards made to stop him, to subdue him since he was still a Prince, but Loki easily ripped them off of him. He threw them from his frame and it was only when one of them screamed from shattered ribs that Thor made to stop his brother. While they had never tested their strength against each other, Thor felt that Loki's rage could easily overpower him. It was only by pinning him with Mjolnir that Loki could be stopped.

"I will not forget this, Odin Allfather." Loki hissed, spitting and hissing as Thor hefted him up. "You will not be able to pass into Valhalla given the _pieces_ I shall leave of you."

And if not for the sorrow that had overtaken him, Thor knew Loki could've easily fought him off.

_**IV.**_

Loki raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the rest of the group, sprawled on the ground in various positions. Sif was the only one still standing, pointing a dagger at the Troll that threatened them. Granted, she probably hadn't offended him, for Sif could hold her tongue in a tavern. It was only at her not-quite pleading look that Loki decided to intervene.

"May I inquire what this is about?" the proclaimed liesmith asked politely, face expressionless as the troll looked at him. "You have felled a Prince of Odin, it must have been a worthy offense."

"Whatsittoya?" Was snarled at him, a hand coming down to left the second-born up.

"I request not to be touched." He didn't like it, not since losing Fenrir and Sleipnir.

He apparently had that 'look', because Sif backed away to guard Thor's barely moving body. He could feel eyes on him from the Warrior's Three, and it filled him with rage and not quite pride. He knew he did things that made them all uncomfortable, things that made them tease his magic skills and his discomfort about physical fighting.

When he felt a brush of stone-like fingers, Loki scowled, reaching out and snapping the troll's wrist like snapping a twig. He grinned at the responding howl, feral and all teeth. "I shall not ask again."

"Enough, trickster." Fandral practically begged. "Let us just move on."

And maybe he would have, if not for at that moment the troll roared and went to smash Loki into the ground. The second Prince dodged, eyes narrowed in displeasure, as he punched the towering being in the nose. A crack sounded under his fist, but it wasn't enough. Maybe his elder brother deserved to be thrown down a peg, but he felt a surge of protectiveness and Loki magicked a knife and pressed it into the troll's neck, elbow deep and only withdrawing once the breathing stopped.

"Was it worth it?" He asked, not surprised when none could respond. Loki sneered and left them.

_**V.**_

Thor knew what to expect of him, but his new mortal pets didn't; Loki snarled at them, angry that they thought him powerless without his magic. Just because he was a Sorcerer didn't mean he was weak, and if it took their broken, bleeding corpses to prove it, then so be it.

His brother backed away when he saw the familiar look, but Steve Rogers just kept coming at him. He saw Tony Stark flying in on them from above, and so did the first thing he thought of; he grabbed Rogers by his arms and swung him up into the Man of Iron, grinning at the undignified squawk that left the Captain as the pair went down in a broken heap.

When he saw Barton readying an arrow, he hefted a car and threw it at him. If not for Thor, the man would've been effectively squished and it was only because of his disappointment that he couldn't dodge the Hulk from tackling and pinning him down. Huffing, he allowed the cuffs to be placed on his wrists and didn't fight being pulled to his feet. He believed he made a point, if their weary and frightened expressions were anything to go by.

_**VI.**_

Since joining the Avengers (and really, it had been mostly Bruce that convinced him with the pleading and promising that he didn't have to put up with Stark unless necessary), they hadn't really had any problems about facing other 'villains'. A couple of aliens, a rising intern of a villain, a mutant that just needed to throw a multi-billion dollar fit, but nothing serious.

Not until Doom.

And Loki surprised himself at the familiar feeling of rage that burned in his chest. The Hulk had been reduced to the Doctor again, Clint was out of arrows and tending to Natasha, who was suffering from a leg; Steve was deflecting blasts from Doom's hands as Thor tried to protect Tony, whose armor wouldn't work.

It was foolish, this attachment. Of thinking of them as something he could relay on when so many had failed him. But he felt his magic dimming, he wouldn't need it, and he merely stalked up to Doom while the man was giving one of his many speeches. He heard them call for him, maybe out of fear of betrayal or actual care, but Loki ignored them.

"Finally come to your sense, Loki?" Doom sneered at him, offering a hand. "Realized that the 'Avengers' have nothing to offer you?"

Frowning, Loki reached out and peeled off his helmet, the metal bending easily under his hands. The so-called Super Villain froze, and so the god kicked him, watching him collide into a bus. Huffing, Loki walked over, lifting the bus to toss it out of the way and reaching for Doom's arms.

"I don't like it," Loki hissed, enjoying the look of terror on the man's face. "When people touch what is mine."

If breaking a troll's wrist was like a twig, snapping Doom's armored shoulder was like pulling apart butter. He didn't even realize it happened until the man screamed. It was pathetic, how easily he gave into pain. Just to make sure, he broke the other shoulder, dropping Doom like an unwanted rag doll and making his way back to his team.

"Um…" Leave it to Tony Stark to break the silence. "Whoa. My hero."

"I think you would put even Father to shame." Thor offered, trying to hide the proud look on his face. He seemed much more accepting of Loki's strength after discovering the cause.

Clint and Bruce appeared, Natasha between them. "That was horrifying. Can we not do that again? Can we like, go on a break and leave Loki to watch over the city? I'm seriously happy you never _really_ wanted to kill us."

Loki smirked at him. "You find comfort in the fact I was merely playing with you?"

The Archer paused, paling slightly. "Well, when you put it like that…"

"Glad he's with us." Bruce muttered, patting Loki on the shoulder before they all made their way to the waiting jet.

Thor took a moment to place a hand on Loki's arm, blue eyes glinting. "You have done well today, brother. You do not know how happy it makes me to see you standing with us."

Loki grinned, shrugging him off. "Mostly because you fear fighting me yourself."

The only answer he received was a laugh; they both knew that to be true.

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So, tell me what you think? -hides-

MRIMO


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